Obturators for safe deposit boxes and other keyholed devices such as doors and lockers are well known. In the case of safe deposit boxes, they are employed to block the keyhole entrance when access to the contents of the boxes is prohibited by court or government order. Many times the obturators are color coded so as to distinguish between governmental, court, and banking reasons for refusing access.
Those obturators in current use include a planar, peripherally flanged head member and a relatively thin, elongated rail member. A planar extension on the rail member, shaped and sized to be received in and gripped by the head member's flange, is formed perpendicular to and integral with the head end of the rail member. The rail member is deformed at various points along its length and folded at its midpoint. The deformed areas of the rail member, and the adjacent walls thereof, extend laterally outward to effect purchase with opposite interior walls of a keyhole channel.
However, prior obturators have been relatively expensive to produce due to their metallic manufacture, are time consuming to assemble due to their two piece construction, require an additional step of painting for color coding, and fail to always provide a tight keyhole fit, resulting in inadvertent slippage.
It is one object of this invention to provide an integrally formed obturator that is manufactured from colored synthetic resilient materials for reducing manufacturing cost.
Another object of this invention is to provide a one-piece obturator with portions thereof formed to provide resilient lateral pressure against the sides of a keyhole channel to inhibit accidental withdrawal.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.